Six unbelievable stories of tornado survival

While we've not yet seen any significant twisters in Canada, an outbreak last weekend killed at least 17 people in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and wrecked numerous homes.

The chances of a deadly tornado occurring in the United States during the season are always high - but amid the stories of destruction, sometimes there are tales of hope, and a surprising number of them.

Here are just six.

Woman survives 2 tornadoes

After nearly being killed in two tornadoes in the exact same town, you might say Wilma Nelson is an old hand at survival.

She was only 23 years old when, in 1947, a massive twister roared through the Oklahoma town of Woodford. As she scrambled under a table, she couldn’t know that the tornado would prove Oklahoma’s deadliest, going on to kill more than 100 people and leave more than 1,000 homes and businesses in ruins.

It’s almost as though the weather gods felt they had unfinished business, coming back for round 2 in April 2012, when Nelson was 87 years old.

She was prepared this time, with a chest full of emergency supplies and a bedside weather radio, which crackled to life just enough in advance that she had time to get out of bed and into a closet.

She barely made it. The twister’s severe winds wrecked her home, and at one point a wall panel fell on her head, and when she looked up to where the roof used to be, she could see the sky above the ruins of her home.

But she survived … unlike six others who lost their lives in the same storm.

Woman finds her dog on live TV

We’re a couple weeks shy of a deadly anniversary for our American neighbours.

On May 20, 2013, an EF-5 tornado – boasting winds of more than 320 km/h – wreaked havoc in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. When it passed, it left 24 people dead, and hundreds more injured, the United States’ deadliest tornado of 2013.

But amid such destruction, there were a few tales of survival, and arguably, there were none more dramatic than in the video above.

That was Oklahoma grandmother Barbara Garcia, speaking of her lost dog Bowser in front of the ruins of her home, just before finding out her pooch managed to survive the carnage.

We’d have told you where to jump forward in the video for the heart-warming moment, but we figured, as with us, the sheer unbelievable nature of the moment hits even harder when you don't know when it's coming.

The incredible story made headlines worldwide, and when it emerged the woman’s home was uninsured, people acted by pouring $21,000 into a fund to help out.

It doesn’t take away from the devastation and the deaths … but it does show that, even amidst the rubble, there can still be a few bright spots.

Woman survives after her house falls on her

We’re also a little past another bitter anniversary: the early April “super outbreak” of 1974.

Around 148 tornadoes touched down in 13 states, leaving 330 people dead and more than 5,000 injured.

And Linda Speakman-Yerick of Noble County, Indiana, was one of the survivors, and boy, did she have a story to tell.

Speakman-Yerick was in the shower when a twister started lifting her trailer park home from the ground. As soon as she realized that was happening, out the door she went, ducking and covering next to her car.

She landed next to her car, and could only watch as her home was lifted several metres off the ground, with her then-husband inside.